Construction of the cathedral began as early as 1170 by an original unknown master mason, for the use of the Catholic Church.

Finally a third engineer, Jean Cotereel, completed the majority of the existing cathedral including a porch, and two towers, one of which is the current day belfry.

The cathedral was consecrated and dedicated to Our Lady in 1275 by Pope Gregory X, Rudolph of Habsburg, and the bishop of Lausanne at the time, Guillaume of Champvent.

[1] The medieval architect Villard de Honnecourt drew the rose window of the south transept in his sketchbook around 1220-1230.

The cathedral has the fourteenth century tomb of the Savoyard knight, Otto de Grandson (c. 1238–1328),the third cousin, lifelong friend and envoy of King Edward I of England.

Grandson had been the Justiciar of North Wales, Governor of the Channel Islands and leader of the English knights at the Siege of Acre (1291).

Since 1405 until the present day without interruption, the city of Lausanne has maintained a lookout in the cathedral bell tower.